Carson Thomas

Birth Story:

My contractions started around 10 pm Thursday evening.  I had walked 4 miles on the treadmill that evening hoping to kick start labor and it seemed to work!  They were pretty mild contractions coming every 7-8 minutes but strong enough that I couldn't sleep through them.  Around 2 AM Victor got up because Erik was crying and I told him that he should probably take a shower because the contractions hadn't stopped.  I knew we were pretty early along in the labor process but living 60 miles from the hospital we couldn't risk getting stuck in DC traffic with a quicker than expected labor.

Dr. Kacedan

We left for the hospital around 2:40 AM arriving at 4:00 AM.  My contractions were every 4-5 minutes apart not severe but consistent.  I was about 2 cm dilated we when arrived. 

By 10 AM I was 4 cm and went ahead and got the epidural.  I am a big fan of epidurals (HA!) and so far mine have gone well.  By noon I was 5 cm and Dr. Kacedan broke my water.  Things continued to putz along slowly.  At 4pm I was only 6 cm so they added a small amount of pitocin. 

This sped things up which was good and by 6 pm I was complete.  I pushed for 5 minutes or less and Carson arrived at 6:17 pm.  He was (and is) perfect.  I didn't tear at all which is great. 

The hardest part of the labor was fatigue.  I had been awake, with the exception of a 1-2 hour nap after getting the epidural, for 36 hours by the time he was born.  I also had an episode of feeling very lightheaded and nauseated which was secondary to a drop in blood pressure (90/50) after getting a bolus of epidural medication.  This was fixed with a small dose of epinephrine (I think - I was way out of it when she gave me this). 

Our first night went well.  He was sleepy and went for 5 hours without waking up.  I was up during the stretch with cramps but I still appreciate the 5 hour stretch. 

He is nursing well.  He latched on within 20 minutes of being born and has nursed 4 times during his first 12 hours of life.  Recovery is going fine for me.  I am having a LOT of cramping and actually took a Percocet for it.  My doctor warned me that uterine cramping always seems worse for you 3rd+ kid.  Still fairly heavy but normal bleeding.  I have been STARVING which hopefully will subside soon.

Erik and Lainey haven't met him yet and probably won't until I get home (too long of drive).  They are at home with Aunt Sonja (thank you!) who arrived at our house for "babywatch" 6 hours before labor started!

STATS:
7lbs 11 ounces  (the biggest of our three as I predicted)
21 inches long
13.75 cm head
Apgars 8/9


PHYSICAL FEATURES:
He has dark brown hair that is really long in the back. 
He has big dimples like Erik - cute!
Detached ear lobes
Small mouth - not toungue tied (Lainey is)
Round cheeks
Blue eyes
BIG hands and feet!

Overall, he looks most like Lainey did as a newborn. It will be fun to see what he looks like in a year. Newborns always seem tiny when being compared to older kids but I remember holding tiny little Lainey as a newborn and compared to her Carson seems huge!  1.25 pounds makes a difference!

We are in love and so grateful for our healthy baby boy!